Episode 157: BEST OF BELLA: Coaching Your Pet Sitting Employees To Success With Niki Ramirez

This week for the Best of Bella series we are replaying episode 95 with Niki Ramirez. Niki is a wealth of information for everything human resources related, she is also a monthly guest in the Jump Consulting Mastermind. A lot of pet sitters and dog walkers may think that they're too small to afford an HR specialist like Niki, but in actuality, it's one of the biggest things you can have on your team. Listen intently to see how she helps pet sitters and dog walkers and everything you can learn. Show Highlights: What is coaching and why should we coach? [6:20] What do great coaches do to unlock the best potential of their employees? [10:50] Are there different types of coaching? And when should we implement these techniques and why? [14:50] Is there any easy way to say “I’m going to be coaching you?” [16:30] How can you coach stubborn pet sitting employees? [20:20] How can you find Niki and tap into her resources? [25:20] Original Show Notes Today we welcome our friend, Niki Ramirez! She is a Human Resource specialist at HRAnswers.org, who provides full-service HR consultation, compliance support and employee training for small businesses. Their mission is to take care of “HR” so that their clients can focus on their business. Today we’re talking about how to be a coach to your pet sitting employees and why it is so important. Biggest Takeaways You Don’t Want To Miss: We are all natural coaches. But the way that we interact and socialize makes it difficult. Be mindful and focused to practice the skills that are already within us. Coaching is an opportunity to point out what you do well and also offer immediate ways to adjust. It is also a top opportunity to build relationships and report with our pet sitting employees How often should we be coaching people? We don’t want to be a “mother hen” and we don’t want to go overboard. It is more important to go hard during the introduction time period. When an employee is new you want to coach them more. Counseling vs coaching where do you draw the line? As a leader, you have to send questions ahead of time that guides your thinking. You have to identify that they are going through something but work through it quickly. Let them know you value them and you have a support base for them if needed. But you can’t “counsel” them. Where do you draw the line of counseling or coaching and those personal boundaries? You can’t always get too personal, even though you may want to. You have to have a distinct boundary line Can staff members coach each other? Definitely! In fact, they are a great resource for team building. Find who is doing a wonderful job that will help you grow. Tap into that and help them grow naturally within your company. Links Find and contact Niki for a quick and easy consultation at HRAnswers.org Share The Show: Did you enjoy the show? We would love it if you subscribed today and left us a 5-star review! Click this link – Bella In Your Business Click on the ‘Subscribe’ button below the artwork Go to the ‘Ratings and Reviews’ section Click on ‘Write a Review’ Transcript: Welcome to Bella in Your Business. This is episode 157 and I'm your host, Bella Vasta. The Best of Bella. Today we're going to be replaying episode 95 with Nikki Ramirez as part of the Best of Bella series. Now, Nikki Ramirez is here locally in Arizona. She has been an incredible supporter and advocate of the dog walking and pet sitting industry. I'd like to say that her and I's partnership have helped tons of pet sitters, probably hundreds over the past two or maybe even three years. Nikki is a wealth of information. She is an independent human resources consultant, HR, and she is a monthly guest inside the mastermind. She was on the podcast and we talked about all things HR, something that I think a lot of pet sitters and dog walkers think that they are too small to afford. But in actuality, this is one of the very biggest things that you can have on your team or knowledge or help to make your systems and processes succeed so that when you're hiring, training, recruiting, and firing, you always have the confidence to know what to do and no situation can knock you off your solid ground. Without further ado, I want you to listen intently to Nikki Ramirez and see how she helps pet sitters and dog walkers and all the good things you can learn. Welcome to Bella in Your Business, where Bella will discuss anything and everything about your pet sitting business to help you land on target. So get ready. Bella's got your chute. Let's jump! Welcome to Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta and I'm your host from Jump Consulting. Today I have a very special guest with me. I have known Nikki Ramirez for probably a year and a half at least, and I need to tell you all that it was not easy to find her. I went through so many people, convinced myself that there is a magical person like Nikki out there in the world to help small business owners like you, the listener, and myself. Nikki is actually an HR consultant. She offers compliance, support, and employee training for small businesses. Her mission is to take care of the HR, the human resources, so that her clients can focus on their business. I was instantly drawn to her and have been lovingly using and abusing her in almost everything I have to offer. Nikki has actually endorsed the employee manual that Jump Consulting sells to pet sitters. She's also been my guest numerous times in the employee quick start mastermind groups that I have to help get pet sitting business owners from solo to employees. And she's been a wealth of information. You guys, what Nikki does is she is literally a contractor that you can bring on your team, project-based or ongoing, and she can help you exactly what she said, take care of your employee or your people problems. Nikki shares that she started working in the realm of human resources and employee training about 25 years ago. She fell in love with the idea that she could have an impact not only on people's success at work but also on their happiness. By creating great work environments, we create great communities. She holds a master’s in business, has been a dual HR-certified professional for over 12 years, and recently added a third certification. Her ongoing education keeps her informed of ever-changing laws and workplace dynamics. Bella shares how she didn’t realize until a few years ago that someone like Nikki was accessible to small businesses. Many assume HR professionals are only for big corporations with high salaries. Yet small businesses need HR expertise the most, especially when it comes to hiring and managing employees. She notes that many pet sitters struggle with two things: getting clients and getting employees. Managing people doesn’t always come naturally to pet sitters and dog walkers, so developing coaching skills is crucial. Nikki explains that everyone has the natural ability to coach; we just need to tap into it. What holds people back isn’t the lack of ability but the desire to avoid potential conflict. Coaching, she explains, is an opportunity to change the outcome of the game while it’s happening — it’s active, in-the-moment guidance. Coaching capitalizes on strengths and points out immediate areas of adjustment. It also builds rapport and relationships through open two-way communication. They discuss how adopting a coaching mindset can transform relationships with employees, contractors, and even virtual assistants. Coaching encourages openness, feedback, and growth rather than criticism. Nikki emphasizes that great coaches provide vision, lead by example, and remove obstacles so their team can succeed. They are like captains steering a ship toward a destination while keeping their team motivated and supported. When it comes to frequency, Nikki says coaching should happen often in the beginning — daily during a new employee’s first 30, 60, or 90 days. This establishes the expectation that coaching is a normal part of the relationship. As employees grow, coaching can shift to a monthly check-in. She recommends three core questions for these check-ins: What’s going well? What are you struggling with? And what should I start, stop, or continue doing to help you succeed? These 15-minute conversations build trust and yield high returns. Bella notes that creating a fun, branded term for coaching, like “bark backs” or “tail wags,” can make it part of the company culture. The key is consistent communication that shows care and development rather than command. Nikki adds that structure prevents conversations from derailing into personal or emotional tangents. Leaders can validate personal struggles while refocusing on work-related goals and expectations. When dealing with stubborn employees, Nikki advises recognizing when coaching is no longer effective and it’s time for discipline. Repeated retraining is not coaching—it’s direction. Coaching reduces the need for discipline because it sets clear expectations early on. However, when necessary, leaders must confidently address noncompliance by outlining consequences while staying professional. They also discuss how business owners can empower team members to coach one another. Within any organization, some employees naturally demonstrate leadership qualities and can mentor others. Assigning peer coaches strengthens company culture, helps develop future leaders, and frees up the owner’s time. Nikki concludes by explaining how she works with pet sitters and small businesses—helping them resolve employee relations issues, refine job descriptions, create training programs, and ensure compliance with wage and hour laws. She helps business owners build solid HR foundations so they can handle situations confidently and proactively. Bella reinforces how valuable this is for small business owners who often wait until a crisis to seek help.